Allied States of America/Revision
|regional_languages = , , , , , |demonym = American(s) |government_type = Quasi-federal republic |leader_title1 = President |leader_name1 = Trevor Prince (A) |leader_title2 = Vice President |leader_name2 = Roberta Guzman (A) |leader_title3 = Presiding Senator |leader_name3 = Pauline Matthews (A) |leader_title4 = Chief Justice |leader_name4 = John Romano |legislature = Allied States Senate |upper_house = Federal Council |lower_house = Representative Assembly |sovereignty_type = Independence |sovereignty_note = from |established_event1 = Declared |established_date1 = 15 January 2007 |established_event2 = Constitution |established_date2 = 10 March 2011 |area_rank = |area_km2 = 2,867,297 |area_sq_mi = 1,781,656 |percent_water = 1.66% |area_label = Total area |population_estimate = 109,915,047 |population_estimate_rank = |population_estimate_year = 2013 |population_census = |population_census_year = |population_density_km2 = 38.3 |population_density_sq_mi = 61.6 |population_density_rank = |GDP_PPP = $0 |GDP_PPP_rank = |GDP_PPP_year = $0 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $0 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |GDP_nominal = $0 |GDP_nominal_rank = |GDP_nominal_year = $0 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $0 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |Gini = 0.0 |Gini_year = 2015 |HDI = 0.000 |HDI_rank = |HDI_year = 2015 |currency = Allied States dollar (AS$) |currency_code = ASD |time_zone = |utc_offset = |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |date_format = yyyy-mm-dd |drives_on = right |cctld = .as |calling_code = +1 }}The Allied States of America (commonly referred to as either the Allied States, less commonly America and least commonly the Alliance, or abbreviated to the AS or the ASA) is a large contiguous country consisting of 20 states located in the western portion North America. It is bordered by the ''United'' States of America to the east, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The Pacific Ocean borders on the Allied States' west coast. The Gulf of Mexico forms the east coast of the Allied States. The Allied States has a geographically and environmentally diverse landscape as well as a varying climate. As of 2013, the AS was home to about 109,915,047 citizens. The Constitution organizes the Allied States as a decentralized (or "quasi-''federal") presidential republic where the several several states are bound together in a weak-federal relationship with the national government in the capital New Bay City, Texas. The President of the Allied States, currently Trevor Prince of the Alliance for Popular Democracy, is the head of state and head of government. The Senate is the federal legislature and consists of two houses, the upper Federal Council and the lower Representative Assembly. There are currently two major parties and one minor party represented in the Senate, namely the Alliance for Popular Democracy (which generally represents left-wing social democrats), the Federalist Party (which generally represents right-wing conservatives) and the smaller Tea Party (which generally represents small government libertarians). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the independent federal judiciary. Each state has its own executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, which are mostly, but not always, subordinate to the federal government. After half a decade of intense secessionist sentiment and campaigns, the Allied States was established formally on 15 January 2007 when it declared independence from its now-eastern neighbor, the United States of America. The secession almost immediately revoked the United States' position as the global superpower, a position it now more or less equally shares with the Allied States, Russia and China. Initially the US federal government did not recognize the validity of the secession of half the country, the US Supreme Court held on the facts in ''Schwartz v. Texas et al. that the Allied States federal government had effective control of the western portion of the nation, with popular support, and held the secession to be valid, reversing its earlier Texas v. White decision. Within two months, on 15 March 2007, the first (transitional) Constitution was enacted by the Allied States Congress, and was essentially a copy of the United States Constitution with minor modifications. It was replaced by the current Constitution on 30 June 2011 after a popular Constitutional Convention. The current Constitution deviates more radically from the US Constitution. Etymology Throughout the secessionist period in the Allied States' history several names were suggested for the hypothetical nation should it break away from the United States. "Columbia", "West America", "Western American States", "Greater Texas Republic", "California-Texas" and the "Allied States" were all popular among the movement. Henry J. Fortis, who would be the first President of the Allied States, favored both the vertical-striped flag and the name "Allied States of America" because "it represents a new direction for America, not an un-America". Fortis' followers wanted to preserve the American character while "shrugging off the tyranny". The largest opponents within the movement to both Fortis and the supporters of the other names, were those who wanted to keep the name of the "United States of America". Many, including then-Texas Governor Jim Waters of the States' Rights Party, claimed that the intention of the movement was never to secede or declare a new nation, but to bring the United States back in line with its constitutional mandates. If the various states were to secede, Waters and his supporters argued, the "new" nation would in fact be the real United States, because it would be founded and organized in line with the US Constitution's provisions and the Founders' original intentions. However, they represented a minority. The majority of states' rights activists favored manifesting their commitment to regional autonomy in a more blatant manner, including changing the name of the nation. While most agreed that whatever the new country would be called, it would remain American, change was preferred. When the various state delegates met in Houston on 15 January 2007 to declare independence, Fortis tabled both the flag and the name to the house, and after a lively 5 hour debate, both were accepted by a vote of 594-122. The Declaration of American Independence thus established the "Allied States of America". History Growing sentiment Popular sentiment in favor of secession originated in the US state of Texas on 4 July 2002 when thousands of young conservative activists marched in favor of states' rights in Austin. At the march, in what was considered to be a foolhardy move by commentators, the organizers tabled the idea of establishing a national States' Rights Party (SRP), which was passed by a wide margin. Although the newly established movement was widely seen as an extension of the Tea Party movement, there was little overlap in activities. The SRP immediately declared its intention to contest federal and state elections throughout the country, including the 2002 Texas gubernatorial election and the 2004 presidential election. Outside of Texas and certain communities in the Great Plains, the movement was not considered to be a serious contender given the United States' historic two-party system. Indeed, the Republican Party attempted to use the states' rights sentiment in its favor and appealed to the supporters of the movement to support its candidates during the elections. 2002 state and federal elections This did not materialize, however, and to the unanimous surprise of the nation, the States' Rights Party won the gubernatorial election in Texas in November 2002. It became the majority party in the Texas House of Representatives, mostly having taken traditionally Republican votes and all but replaced the Republicans in the state Senate. The Republicans narrowly kept their federal Senate seat representing Texas, while the States' Rights Party took 14 seats from Texas in the federal House of Representatives. The Green Party was replaced as the third largest party in California by the SRP, which also took 12 seats in the California Senate and 23 in the State Assembly. California also delivered the SRP 5 extra seats in the federal House of Representatives. The States' Rights Party performed well throughout the Great Plains as well, gaining seats in various legislatures and taking some executive posts. At the end of 2002, the SRP had 21 seats in the US House of Representatives and essentially governed Texas. Interim period (2002-2007) Independence declared Schwartz v. Texas Transitional period Constitutional Convention Mac presidency The Allied States' first foreign military engagement came in 2011 when President Timothy Mac deployed the Allied States Military into Libya to assist the rebel forces in deposing the government of Muammar Gaddafi. The deployment, known as Operation Feather, was not internationally sanctioned, by NATO or otherwise. Instead, the Mac administration had entered into a bilateral agreement with the rebel forces, offering direct military assistance if certain prerequisites were met. Should the rebels take over Libya, they had to commit to political secularism, and that they would not sponsor or provide any kind of support for fundamentalist Islamic groups. Consequently, 1,500 Allied States marines were deployed into Benghazi. This led to widespread international condemnation of President Mac's foreign policy doctrine. Commentators even came to calling Mac the "George W. Bush of the Allied States". Prince presidency The Allied States' recent political scene has been dominated by apparent scandals surrounding newly elected President Trevor Prince. Prince ran on what has been described as an 'ultra-liberal' platform concerning social issues, and he has certainly enacted measures of that caliber during his early days in the presidency. During his inauguration ceremony, Prince arrived with several hundred young female models in a convoy of Hummer limousines, leading to immediate conservative outrage. The models proceeded to accompany Prince to the podium, with many of them blocking the views of the audience of VIPs behind the podium. Assembly Minority Leader Edward Springfield and a substantial number of other Federalist senators and federal councilors, promptly left the event after declaring their disapproval to the press media. While Chief Justice John Romano was confirmed to be at the capitol to swear the President-Elect in, he did not do so. Instead, liberal-leaning Associate Justice Vince Q. Bellic was called to do so. The Chief Justice's Office responded by saying Romano was not feeling well, and did not want to infect the new President with his cold. Prince filled his Keller House staff with close personal associates, mostly from his campaign personnel. Much controversy surrounded his appointment of supermodel Candice Whitepage as Press Secretary given her lack of experience. Prince motivated the appointment by saying "most Americans don't watch these briefings because it's boring. The days of boring briefings are over." The feminist left especially took offense at what they regard as "blatant objectification of half the population by the most respected office in country". Prince replied that he doesn't care "what the feminazis believe", further drawing more backlash. In September 2015, with Pope Francis' first North American visit, President Prince refused to host the Pope on his scheduled New Bay City visit. When asked by the press why he would not meet with the Pope, Prince replied that he would "be too busy to play around in the ivory tower of bullshit", drawing fierce criticism especially from the religious left in the Allied States who belonged to his party. Assembly Majority Whip Lucien Amatri, a devout Catholic, said that he did not agree with the President's sentiments and commented that the activity of the Church goes well beyond an 'ivory tower'. When asked to comment at a Keller House PBR briefing, Prince shrugged his shoulders, chuckled, and said "whatever". Politics and government The Allied States is a quasi-federal presidential republic (alternatively a decentralized presidential republic) with three independent branches of government on the federal level. It is further divided into twenty states of equal political standing within the Alliance, each of which has its own government. The source of sovereignty is the Constitution of the Allied States of 2011. Federal elections as a general rule take place once every four years, with the last having been in XXXX. As of 2015, three political parties dominate the political scene in the Allied States on the federal level. The Alliance for Popular Democracy was founded in August 2007 by former Democratic Party politicians to organize the political center-left in the country. The Republican Party remained existent in the AS until in February 2010 when it merged with the States Rights Party to form the Federalist Party. The Federalist Party is considered to represent the political center-right. The small remnant of the Libertarian Party joined with several think tanks and disillusioned members of the former two dominant parties to form the Tea Party in July 2009. The Tea Party is a big-tent party broadly dedicated to classical liberal ideas. It has remained the third largest party in the Allied States. The presidency and the majority in the Senate has been, akin to the situation in the United States, either controlled by the Alliance or the Federalists. The Tea Party has only recently made an appearance in elected federal office, when 16 senators from that party were elected under the system of proportional representation. The current President is Trevor Prince of the Alliance for Popular Democracy. The Alliance also currently control the Senate. Federal government The federal government is the national democratic government of the Allied States and shares sovereignty with the several states. It is based in a special district of New Bay City, Texas called the Federal Administrative Center, where the offices of the President and Vice President, the Senate, and the Supreme Court are located. Its principal source of authority is the Constitution, with a host of other legislation regulating it. The Senate is primarily responsible for three things: representing the people of the Allied States, passing and reviewing federal laws, and providing an oversight mechanism for the federal executive and judiciary. It consists of two houses, the upper Federal Council and the lower Representative Assembly. The Federal Council consists totally of 50 federal councilors, of which 20 are elected directly by the population of each state (1 per state), 20 are appointed by the Governors of each state (1 per state) and 10 are appointed by the President on advice from the Federal Lobbying Corps. The Representative Assembly consists of 300 senators, half of which are chosen according to the system of party-list proportional representation, and half of which are directly elected by electoral constituencies according to the first past the post system. The Alliance for Popular Democracy currently has a majority in the Representative Assembly, followed closely by the Federalist Party. The Constitutional Party is the only third party represented in the Assembly, and has only 16 senators, all of which owe their presence to proportional representation (i.e. they did not win any constituencies). Only the Alliance and the Federalists are represented in the Federal Council. By and large, the Allied States is considered to be a two-party state. The Presiding Senator, currently Pauline Matthews of the Alliance, is the chief administrative officer of the Senate as well as the chairperson of the Representative Assembly. The Vice President is the chairperson of the Federal Council. The President is the national head of state and head of government, and is elected every four years. There is no prescribed term limit. The President is responsible primarily for implementing federal law as passed by the Senate, formulating executive policy and mediating and arbitrating executive disputes between the states. The President is also the commander in chief of the Allied States Military. Elected with the President is the Vice President, a figure generally dedicated to supporting the President in his duties. There are no constitutionally prescribed duties for the Vice President other than that he will become acting President in certain circumstances and that he will act as the chairperson of the Federal Council. As is customary, however, the most senior member of the Federal Council (the President pro tempore) fills this latter duty. The Vice President only attends when a tie vote is to be broken. Some federal legislation has, however, created specific duties for the Vice President. The President as head of the federal executive must form a cabinet of department secretaries. The Constitution specifically establishes X federal departments, however, the President or Senate may create more. The current President, since XXXX, is former-Presiding Senator Trevor Prince of the Alliance for Popular Democracy. His Vice President is Roberta Guzman, a former Mexican supermodel. The inclusion of the unqualified Guzman on the Prince ticket caused immense controversy, especially among conservatives, however, to the indifference of Prince. Since his election, Prince has controversially appointed several other close friends (most of whom are considered unqualified) and social personalities to high government office, leading to the Federalist establishment considering the Prince administration "an administration of unprecedented nepotism." Prince has embraced the label, going as far as to create an online vlog called "The Nepotist Lounge". The Supreme Court, however, in the recent case of American Values Center v. President of the Allied States, held that "while the President's means are unorthodox and, in the opinion of this Bench, improper; the Constitution and federal law as it stands does not hinder the President from appointing whomever he sees fit to those offices he is duly and legally empowered to fill." The Supreme Court is the apex court of law in the Allied States, and is led by the Chief Justice and eight associate justices (including the Associate Chief Justice). The Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting law (be it of national, state or local origin) if such a case comes before it and adjudicating disputes. The host of other federal and state courts throughout the country, however, ensure that only a few cases which are appealed throughout make it to the Supreme Court bench. The Constitution however does mandate that the Supreme Court shall be the court of first (and only) instance in cases where the President, the Vice President, a cabinet secretary, a senator or a federal councilor is impeached and indicted for a crime. The Constitution only provides for the Supreme Court and state supreme courts, however empowers the Senate to establish other federal courts and state legislatures to establish other state courts. The Hon. John Romano is the first and current Chief Justice of the Allied States. Administrative divisions The Allied States consists of 20 states, all of which are named and described in the Constitution. Each state is further (subject to their own discretion) generally divided into counties and cities. The Constitution prescribes the basic structure and governing principles underlying each state government but allows more leeway for the states to function according to their own chosen methodology. Each state must (and does) have a state constitution which details the structure and duties of the state government. As it stands (2015), each of the 20 states has three branches of government, with the Governor being the executive head of the state government. All states have established systems of local government. The states of the Alliance are: Law Due to the Allied States' status as a quasi-federation, there are two tiers of law, namely federal law and state law. The Constitution is the supreme law of the Allied States and precedes all other law, including state law. Federal law, for the most part, but not always, takes precedence over state law where there are conflicts between the two. Law on the local level also exists, but is mostly limited to ordinances passed by county and city councils. These are, broadly, considered to be state law with limited territorial application. Each of the 20 AS states have their own state constitutions setting out the structure and responsibilities of the their state governments, and which bestows authority to local government. While currently state constitutions are the supreme law applicable in those states (while still generally subject to federal law), they do not necessarily have to be. There are three main sources of law on the federal level: common law, legislation and case law. The common law is the Allied States' legal tradition, as inherited from the United States (which in turn inherited it from Britain), and has been largely codified in the Constitution and legislation. Legislation is passed by the Senate and usually takes the form of an Act, but can also be a Code or a binding resolution. The Constitution itself is considered to be a piece of (extraordinary) legislation. Case law is pronounced by the federal courts, with the highest precedent-setting court being the Supreme Court. The Allied States' 2007 Constitution, being a near-verbatim reproduction of the US Constitution, stated that all US law (including legislation and case law) which had been applicable in the various states of the Allied States on 14 March 2007, remained applicable, unless repealed on the state level by a state legislature or pronounced invalid by a state court, or repealed on the federal level by the Senate or pronounced invalid by a federal court. The 2011 Constitution reaffirmed this. Since that time, AS state legislatures, the Senate and the courts have produced an independent body of law, although much of the US law as it had been on 14 March 2007 still applies throughout the country. In cases of conflict between old order law and new order law, new order law prevails, and where old order law conflicts with AS constitutional law, the relevant legislature which has jurisdiction, must within 6 months bring it in line with said constitutional law. Military The Allied States Military (ASM) is the national armed forces of the Allied States, and consists of the Army (including its Air Corps) and the Navy (including its Marine Corps and the Coast Guard). Each state is entitled to its own defensive force, known as the National Guard, which is regulated by state law, but can be federalized by the President when a state of emergency is declared. The President is the commander in chief of the Military, however delegates as a general rule civilian control of the armed forces to the Secretary of Defense. The High Command consists of the most senior military officers of the two service branches. Foreign relations The Department of Foreign Affairs is the cabinet department responsible for the Allied States' foreign dealings and international cooperation, under the oversight of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee (SFAC). It is led by the presidentially-appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs, currently Jarrod Shrew (F). The Allied States is a founding member of the Economic and Defense Network (Eden) and also houses its headquarters, as well (controversially) as a Security Council member of the United Nations. Nearly all countries have an embassy in New Bay City, as well as consulates throughout the Allied States which were established before its secession from the United States. The Allied States itself maintains embassies throughout the world. The presidency of independent Henry J. Fortis saw a non-interventionist foreign policy, where the Allied States focused primarily on reconciliation with the United States, and foreign cooperation-without-entanglement. It is also noted for the Allied States' withdrawal from the American foreign War on Terrorism. Military divisions based in the Allied States were promptly pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan during 2007-2008. The Federalist presidency of Timothy Mac however saw the Allied States take a more proactive approach to foreign affairs, with the AS notably getting involved in both the Libyan and Syrian civil wars. Economy Culture See also Category:Allied States of America